CENTER FOR SOCIAL ADVOCACY
Jennett Rowland Johnson, the family matriarch, was a Hicksite Quaker. Hicksites were considered “progressive leaders”. Jennett married Samuel Johnson who experienced a typical Quaker upbringing. Jennett gave the Johnsons its legacy of progressive Quaker abolition. Her father John Rowland manumitted his three slaves in keeping with his Quaker convictions. The abolitionist impulse ran deep in Jennett’s children. Her children described themselves as “infidel abolitionists” who endorsed “the brotherhood of the human family without regard to sex, color or condition”. They were champions of racial equality, fighters for the cause of humanity”, ardent antislavery activists, and active Underground Railroad (UGRR) conductors.
The range of the Johnson Family’s antislavery involvement is extraordinary. Rowland Johnson’s roles are probably the most prominent. In addition to serving as an officer of the Junior Anti-Slavery Society, he was a member of the Association of Friends Committee on Requited Labor, secretary of the Upper Delaware Ward Anti-Slavery Society, a member of the Vigilance Committee of Philadelphia (who protected freedmen’s rights and resisted slave-catchers), a founder of the Longwood Yearly Meeting of Progressive Friends (who were militant abolitionists and whose participants included Oliver Johnson, Sojourner Truth, and Bartholomew Fussell among many others), and a Vice-President of the American Anti-Slavery Society (whose other officers included William Lloyd Garrison, Samuel May, Lucretia Mott, Robert Purvis, Thomas Garrett, and Wendell Phillips among other renowned abolitionists).23 Israel H. Johnson was also a founder and officer of the Junior Anti-Slavery Society, a manager of the Philadelphia Free Produce Association (which boycotted the products of slave labor), a supporter of the Association of Friends for the Free Instruction of Adult Colored Persons, a manager of the Institute for Colored Young Men, an officer of the Friends Association of Philadelphia and Its Vicinity for the Relief of Colored Freedmen, and a manager of the Home for Aged and Infirm Colored Persons. 24 Elizabeth R. Johnson, sister of Rowland and Israel, was a member of the Germantown Freedman’s Aid Association and a contributor to the Ladies Union Bazaar Association Fair For the Benefit of the Colored Orphans Asylum 25. Henrietta (Wolcott) Johnson, M.D., Rowland’s wife, was a founder of the Longwood Yearly Meeting of Progressive Friends 26, and Mary (Marshall) Johnson, Israel’s spouse (whom he married in 1872), was a supporter of the Colored Orphans Asylum and a “liberal contributor” to the Home for the Aged and Infirm Colored Persons.
SOURCE: United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service National Form 10-900 USDI/NPS NRHP
Registration Form (Rev. 8-86) OMB No. 1024-0018
ADVOCACY TODAY
In 2013, Johnson House (JH) identified a compelling need in our local and national discourse for:
- The true story of the UGRR is embedded in the economy and politics of our developing nation and told through the viewpoints of African American leaders in that struggle.
- The complex stories of White and Quaker allies.
- Opportunities for visitors of many ages to actively engage in learning this history so that they might take insights from the JH story into their analysis of the issues facing us today
- “Paying forward” is the core principle of the JH story, bringing those principles into a call to action for social justice in present times.
2014 – Johnson House hosted community vision engagement sessions to solicit structural input into what happens at our historic site. We asked, “What do you think we should be?” Participants were generally of one accord – use your history of advocacy and story of the Underground Railroad to serve as the bedrock of modern abolitionism; create a conducive environment to discuss opportunities that afford residents to explore thoughts for future community engagement.
2015 – Johnson House voted to become an empathetic representative in the community – championing challenges directly, or, through other established entities, and launched our Center for Social Advocacy (CSA). CSA expands our programming, serving as a space to engage the community, facilitate shared difficult conversations, and build advocacy, to address contemporary issues that negatively impact communities today. This strategy builds on Johnson House’s history and current experiences. Partnering with advocates, thought leaders, and community leaders, we support the capacity of those who already do the work to address racial and social injustice today. These efforts deepen our community engagement as we join with others who do the hard work to make a difference in communities today. Johnson House’s contributions, no matter the size, make a difference to the greater good. To date, our partners advocate to advance change in these areas:
- Youth Leadership Development
- Gentrification
- Housing Insecurity
- Education & Literacy
- Trauma
- Food Insecurity
- Racial & Economic Justice
- Gun Violence
- Black & Gender Oppression
- Mass Incarceration & Restorative Justice
- Black Women & Leadership
- Human Trafficking
- Voter Suppression Education
2016 – Johnson House partnered with Temple University Institute for Survey & Research to implement a survey to solicit feedback from the community. The question was asked, “what would you say is the most important issue facing your community right now?” Overwhelmingly, feedback from survey participants stated their concern for a need to resolve the issues above and many others.
Racial injustice has occurred for centuries. CSA looks at racial injustice through a lens that focuses on some of the harshest consequences of racism: Death, Wrongful Incarceration, Conviction, Revolution, and Liberation. But we also focus on Forgiveness and Reconciliation, forged among diverse races and ethnicities who commit to working through the difficult steps to advocate for equality.
Johnson House believes the struggle for freedom and justice should be practiced every day. Our history represents an example of unique revolutionary partnerships — between free and enslaved Africans, the abolitionist Johnson family, and other White abolitionists.
Johnson House is a catalyst to inspire, uplift, and empower current and future generations to do the work to uplift black lives today. Johnson House represents a sensible vehicle to affirm that Black Lives Matter every day and serves as an example of the catalytic change that we need today.
CSA MISSION
Educate, train and empower everyday citizens in Germantown and beyond to address racial, economic, and social issues.